NameCensus.

UK surname

Dams

A topographic surname derived from a location near a dam or dike.

In the 1881 census there were 100 people recorded with the Dams surname, ranking it #19,750 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 185, ranked #20,652, down from #19,750 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Calverley, Glaston and Blatherwycke. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Riding of Yorkshire, Walsall and Sandwell.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dams is 192 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 85.0%.

1881 census count

100

Ranked #19,750

Modern count

185

2016, ranked #20,652

Peak year

2000

192 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dams had 100 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #19,750 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 185 in 2016, ranked #20,652.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 183 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Dams surname distribution map

The map shows where the Dams surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Dams surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Dams over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 74 #20,443
1861 historical 155 #14,881
1881 historical 100 #19,750
1891 historical 169 #16,885
1901 historical 119 #20,624
1911 historical 183 #15,811
1997 modern 190 #18,199
1998 modern 177 #19,523
1999 modern 189 #18,862
2000 modern 192 #18,683
2001 modern 174 #19,562
2002 modern 167 #20,457
2003 modern 165 #20,401
2004 modern 171 #20,079
2005 modern 164 #20,552
2006 modern 165 #20,634
2007 modern 165 #20,893
2008 modern 169 #20,745
2009 modern 182 #20,201
2010 modern 177 #21,034
2011 modern 181 #20,579
2012 modern 183 #20,356
2013 modern 181 #20,879
2014 modern 182 #20,958
2015 modern 174 #21,449
2016 modern 185 #20,652

Geography

Back to top

Where Dams' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Calverley, Glaston, Blatherwycke, Harringworth and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Riding of Yorkshire, Walsall, Sandwell, Dacorum and North Norfolk. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Calverley Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Glaston Rutland
3 Blatherwycke Northamptonshire
4 Harringworth Rutland
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Riding of Yorkshire 044 East Riding of Yorkshire
2 Walsall 025 Walsall
3 Sandwell 005 Sandwell
4 Dacorum 005 Dacorum
5 North Norfolk 004 North Norfolk

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Dams

These lists show first names that appear often with the Dams surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Dams

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Dams, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Dams surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Dams household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Dams is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Dams is most concentrated in decile 3 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Dams falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Dams is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Dams, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Dams

The surname DAMS is of Anglo-Saxon origin, originating in England during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "dam," meaning a barrier or bank to control the flow of water. This word was likely used as a topographic name for someone who lived near a dam or resided in an area with several dams.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DAMS can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "atte Dam" and "de la Dam," indicating its adoption as a surname during this time.

In the 13th century, records show a William atte Dam residing in Sussex, England. This entry suggests the surname's association with a specific location or waterway controlled by a dam. Similarly, in the 14th century, a John atte Dam is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, further solidifying the name's presence in the region.

During the late medieval period, the surname DAMS evolved into its modern spelling, and its usage spread across England. One notable figure bearing this surname was Sir William Dams, a 16th-century English politician and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire, who lived from 1520 to 1589.

In the 17th century, a prominent example is John Dams, a British naval officer and explorer who served as a lieutenant aboard the HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous expedition to the Galapagos Islands. Dams was born in 1792 and played a crucial role in charting and mapping various regions during the voyage.

Another historical figure with the surname DAMS was Robert Dams, a Scottish philosopher and educator who lived from 1778 to 1857. He was a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and published several works on ethics and moral theory.

In the 19th century, the name DAMS gained further recognition with the birth of William Dams (1834-1911), an English architect known for designing numerous churches and buildings in the Gothic Revival style. His notable works include the Church of St. Andrew in Rugby, Warwickshire.

As the surname DAMS spread across the British Isles and beyond, it continued to be associated with various professions and achievements, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name throughout history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Dams families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dams surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Rutland leads with 28 Dams' recorded in 1881 and an index of 411.76x.

County Total Index
Rutland 28 411.76x
Yorkshire 20 2.18x
Northamptonshire 19 21.80x
Cambridgeshire 8 13.63x
Leicestershire 8 7.79x
Staffordshire 6 1.92x
Middlesex 2 0.22x
Nottinghamshire 2 1.60x
Lincolnshire 1 0.67x
Norfolk 1 0.70x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Harringworth in Northamptonshire leads with 13 Dams' recorded in 1881 and an index of 10833.33x.

Place Total Index
Harringworth 13 10833.33x
Idle 9 211.27x
Glaston 8 11428.57x
Seaton 7 7000.00x
Leicester St Mary 6 72.29x
Norton Canes 6 526.32x
Uppingham 6 740.74x
Blatherwycke 5 12500.00x
Greasbrough 5 413.22x
Morcott 5 3333.33x
Parson Drove 5 2173.91x
Sheffield 3 10.26x
Thorney 3 461.54x
Chelsea London 2 7.16x
Leicester St Margaret 2 7.98x
Market Overton 2 1666.67x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 1 11.70x
Barden In Skipton 1 833.33x
Burton Joyce 1 476.19x
Downham Market 1 102.04x
East Carlton 1 3333.33x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 5.35x
Gedling 1 476.19x
Skirbeck Quarter 1 370.37x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Dams surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 6
Sarah 5
Elizabeth 4
Eliza 3
Ellen 3
Fanny 3
Harriet 3
Ann 2
Charlotte 2
Alice 1
Annie 1
Bertha 1
Blanche 1
Caroline 1
Eathel 1
Florence 1
Hannah 1
Henrietta 1
Kate 1
Lily 1
Misiney 1
Nellie 1
Rosa 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Dams surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

FAQ

Dams surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dams surname in 1881?

In 1881, 100 people were recorded with the Dams surname. That placed it at #19,750 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dams surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 185 in 2016. That gives Dams a modern rank of #20,652.

What does the Dams surname mean?

A topographic surname derived from a location near a dam or dike.

What does the Dams map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Dams bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.